annot
afford to be edited by a cheat, don't y' know."

"What a fool the man has been; and yet something of the kind was bound
to happen. Many a time his fondness for the card-playing gang at the
Club has meant double work for me."

"That has been the joke since you went away, as old Mac has come rushing
into the office about midnight, and vamped up a couple of leaders with
the aid of his scissors and the London dailies. We heard Jones and he
rowing about the character of his stuff a week ago. It seems that Sir
Henry had complained."

"Well, I am heartily sorry for his wife and family. I hope the affair
may be patched up."

"No fear of that. He has got to go with a rush; and why should you be
sorry if his shoes are waiting for you?"

"Still, I am sorry. As for the shoes, I hope they won't lead my feet the
same road."

Just a touch of priggishness here; but remember, Henry was young.

Truly, this was startling news. Mr. Duncan Macgregor, the editor of the
_Leader_, was a journalist of excellent parts; one who had held
important positions in London and the provinces, but whose fondness for
the whisky of his native land had made his life a changeful one. For
nearly five years he had been jogging along pretty comfortably in
Laysford, to the great joy of his much-tried wife; but his position as
editor of the _Leader_, which represented the dominant party in local
politics, made him much sought after by scheming public men, and in the
end brought his old weakness for what is ironically called "social life"
to the top.

Duncan Macgregor, indeed, for nearly two years had been scamping his
duties, on the pretence that by constant fraternising with the sportive
element of the Liberal Club he was representing his paper in the quarter
where its influence was of most importance. He had even developed a new
enthusiasm for public life, and was scheming to become a Justice of the
Peace and to enter Laysford Town Council. He had not been careful to
note that Mr. Wilfred Jones, the general manager of the _Leader_
Company, and a more important person than the editor in the eyes of the
shareholders, considered that he was the natural figurehead of the
concern. Mr. Jones had been elected to the magistrates' bench, and was a
candidate for the next municipal election, dreaming even of venturing to
contest one of the Parliamentary divisions.

As it was due to the acute management of Mr. Jones that the _Leader_ had
been lifted from a